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War of Necessity, War of Choice

A Memoir of Two Iraq Wars

About The Book

Richard Haass, a member of the National Security Council staff in the George H. W. Bush administration and the State Department director of policy planning for George W. Bush, reviews the causes and strategies of the first and second Iraq wars while providing a thoughtful examination of the means and ends of U.S. foreign policy.

War of Necessity, War of Choice—part history, part memoir—provides invaluable insight into some of the most important recent events in the world.

Additionally, this book provides a much-needed compass for how the United States can apply the lessons learned from the two Iraq wars so that it is better positioned to put into practice what worked and avoid repeating what so clearly did not.

In this compelling, honest, and challenging book by one of the country’s most respected voices on foreign policy, Haass’s assessments are critical yet fair and carry tremendous weight.

About The Author

Photo Credit: Kaveh Sardari

Richard Haass is president of the Council on Foreign Relations, an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher. Until June 2003, Richard Haass was director of policy planning for the Department of State, where he was a principal advisor to Secretary of State Colin Powell.Previously, Haass was vice president and director of foreign policy studies at The Brookings Institution.  He was also special assistant to President George Bush and senior director on the staff of the National Security Council from 1989 to1993.  Haass is the author of The Opportunity: America's Moment to Alter History's Course.  A Rhodes Scholar, he holds a B.A. from Oberlin College and Master and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from Oxford University.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster (May 18, 2010)
  • Length: 368 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781416549031

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Awards and Honors

  • CHOICE Outstanding Academic Title

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